By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch

Pound rises on strong services PMI

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Stocks in the U.K. rose Tuesday, with shares of Standard Life PLC and Aggreko PLC each higher following financial updates.

Meanwhile, the pound popped higher after U.K. services activity hit its strongest level in eight months.

The FTSE 100 index rose 0.5% to 333.30, on track for its first gain in five sessions.

Perched at the top of the index, Aggreko traded 3.6% higher as the power-generator provider said its interim dividend was raised 3% to 9.38 pence, from 9.11 pence a year ago.

Aggreko, which was a provider for the 2014 World Cup soccer tournament, also backed its view that full-year underlying profit will be at similar levels to 2013. Pretax profit in the first half of 2014 fell 10%, hurt by exchange rates.

Shares of Standard Life gained 2.3% after the insurer, which also manages funds, posted a 12% rise in first-half operating profit.

On the losing end of the index, stock in Meggitt PLC dropped 7.3% following the aerospace-equipment company's decision to revise its full-year view of its military division. Weaker-than-anticipated revenue in that division contributed to a 20% decline in first-half pretax profit.

The pound (GBPUSD) was pushed to an intraday high of $1.6890 against the dollar, according to FactSet data, bolstered by a strong reading on the U.K. services sector. The Markit/CIPS U.K. service-sector purchasing managers index jumped to 59.1 in July, from 57.7 in June. Analysts had expected a reading of 58.0. The pound was buying $1.6849 ahead of the report, and fetched $1.6818 late Monday.

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